Baked Root Vegetable Chips with Buttermilk-Parsley Dipping Sauce

I’ve often wondered if root vegetables have an underground society, where they discuss top secret vegetable-y things. Those little ninjas. There’s something very mysterious and covert about root vegetables, as though they know something we don’t. Given the option, I would love to be a fly on the wall at a clandestine Root Club meeting. The first rule of Root Club is you do not talk about Root Club. (Just kidding.)

If you remember my Guide to Root Vegetables, you have already unearthed my deep-seated desperate love for roots. They are not as intimidating as one would think, and as it turns out, they make great chips! Snacks, anyone?

Baked root vegetable chips are a healthy alternative to your average store-bought tortilla or potato chip. It may seem like a lot of work to peel and slice vegetables, but I promise it goes quickly, especially if you use a mandoline slicer. And it’s so worth it!

Here are a few tips and tricks for perfect root chips:

Use a mandoline slicer for quick and even slicing.

Lightly coat each vegetable slice (including the edges) with oil. Too much oil will cause the roots to get soggy.

Mmmmyeeeeesss, about that dipping saaaauce (said like Smithers from The Simpsons). I made buttermilk-parsley dipping sauce for these root chips, which is essentially a souped-up version of ranch dressing. But way better because this version is mayo-free. And if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I ha ha ha haaaate mayonnaise! But I loooove me some buttermilk-parsley dipping sauce!

Do note that since these chips are not deep-fried or made using a dehydrator, they won’t get quite as crispy as store-bought root veggie chips. You’ll want to eat these right out of the oven when they’re still warm–these aren’t the kind of chips you can store and eat later because they’ll get soggy!

Instructions

To Prepare the Buttermilk-Parsley Dipping Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients for the dipping sauce together until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To Prepare the Root Chips:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Whisk together the oil, dried thyme, garlic powder, ground cumin and salt in a small bowl.

Peel all of the root vegetables and use a mandoline slicer to slice them 1/8-inch thick. (You can also slice them thinly using a sharp knife, but be very careful, as roots tend to be difficult to cut.)

Use a brush to lightly coat both sides of each chip with oil, then place the slices on an oven-safe wire rack, making sure the slices do not overlap. Place the wire racks on 2 baking sheets. (If you don’t have enough wire racks or baking sheets, you can make the chips in 2 batches.)

Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the roots until golden-brown and crispy. Check on the roots every few minutes once they have been baking for 20 minutes; remove any chips that are brown and crisp and return the rest to the oven until they’re all done baking.

34 Comments

Root vegetables are awesome, and root vegetable chips are probably one of the greatest snacks ever!! I really have to use my mandoline more often. I’ve had it for a few years, but it mostly lives in the back of a cabinet 🙁 I’m slightly scared of it, but mostly I can’t slice anything evenly to save my life. Maybe it’s time to try again.

Julia Mueller

March 6, 2014 at 11:25 am

So glad you love root chips! Mandolin slicers can be a bit intimidating and the first one I owned required much more elbow grease than the one I have now. There’s nothing like getting into a nice slicing rhythm and having all the slices come out squeaky clean and perfecto. Lemme know if you try them, girly!! 🙂

Julia Mueller

March 6, 2014 at 11:26 am

YESSS! Parsnip chips are some of my faves, too!! The beet ones can be a little trickier in the sense that they don’t crispy up quite like parsnip chips do, but they’re still so good in my opinion and definitely satisfy the savory munchie craving. 🙂 Hope you give the beet chips a go!

I love the baked chips in the deli section, but they are like $5 for a little bitty package. I think I would try dehydrating them first to almost dry and then baking them in the oven with seasonings and maybe spritz with just a tiny bit of EVOO.

Julia Mueller

March 6, 2014 at 3:19 pm

I’ve noticed how expensive veggie chips can be too. Unfortunately, it’s not much more cost effective to make them at home, but they sure are tasty! Good call on dehydrating them first and then baking them to a nice crisp. Let me know if you try out this method!!

:D

Julia Mueller

March 10, 2014 at 8:18 am

Hi there! As you probably found out, the chips become chewy if you store them as opposed to eating them right away 🙁 Although I don’t own a dehydrator, I hear you can get a more consistently crunchy chip through the dehydrator route than with oven-baked chips. Thanks for trying out the recipe!!

Nice! I once bought a bag of vegetable chips in the Netherlands but then forgot about them again. This is totally uncommon in Germany but I love the idea and also the taste. And it seems to be pretty easy to make your own, so thanks for the recipe and the reminder – and the great photos! Glad I found this before root vegetables are out of season again 🙂